On the other hand, the social network literature has extensively documented homophily, where people tend to form and sustain links with peers similar to themselves [1]}. It can then be argued that people might forego potential diversity bonuses in favor of self-similarity-based network connections. Previous work suggests that if multiple people draw inspirations from similar stimuli, then even their independently stimulated ideas can become similar to each other [2]}. This way, homophily-guided network dynamics can limit the variety of ideas stimulated—leading to counter-productive outcomes in divergent creativity [3]}. An implicit conflict thus results from the trade-off between the diversity bonus and homophily—choosing to affiliate with others based on self-similarity attenuates creativity while the collective effect of group diversity enhances creativity.
